‘It’s unbelievable that we as a country don’t have a national food policy in this country in 2010 and it’s something that’s desperately needed,’ says Liberal MP Wayne Easter.

Canada needs a national food strategy, but governments don’t have the political will to create one, say opposition MPs, however, the government says just because agriculture policies don’t have a “food strategy” label it does not mean the government doesn’t have one.

“It’s unbelievable that we as a country don’t have a national food policy in this country in 2010 and it’s something that’s desperately needed,” said Liberal MP Wayne Easter (Malpeque, P.E.I.), his party’s agriculture critic.

Mr. Easter said there was a lack of leadership at the federal level when it comes to a national food strategy because “Ottawa operates in its little silos and nobody wants to accept responsibility” for it. He also told The Hill Times that there are too many departments involved in creating a strategy, for example, the departments of Agriculture, Health, Fisheries and Oceans, Environment, Industry and Finance as well as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, would all have a hand in the policy direction. It’s one of the major reasons why Canada doesn’t have a strategy, he said.

NDP MP Alex Atamanenko (B.C. Southern Interior, B.C.), his party’s agriculture critic, who recently toured the country to report on a possible national food strategy, agreed that political will is needed when it comes to creating a policy. He noted that the Conservatives found $1-billion to host two international conferences because it wanted to. “It’s not as if the money is not there. It’s about priorities,” Mr. Atamanenko said. “If the priority for the government is to have a Canadian food strategy which is what we’re advocating, and to have some control of our food supply, then we’ll find the means to do it.”

Conservative MP Pierre Lemieux (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Ont.), Parliamentary secretary to the minister of agriculture, told The Hill Times last week that a strategy is made up of different elements and the government is working on all fronts when it comes to agriculture policy. “Many of these elements were already implemented, we’re implementing them, we’re working with industry in terms of having a strategy,” Mr. Lemieux said. “Some people would say, ‘Oh because what you’re doing doesn’t say national food strategy, you have no strategy,’ but I would disagree. You tell me 15 elements of your national food strategy, and I’ll show you initiatives in each of those areas.”

Mr. Easter noted that the federal Liberal Party has made agriculture and a national food strategy an important part of its election platform. He also admitted that it’s not just the current government that’s lacking in a strategy, but when the Liberals were previously in power, agriculture issues did not get the attention it should have.

“The leadership of government, not only this government, but even ourselves when we were government, it has not taken the issue of farming and agriculture seriously enough. It’s given second thought,” Mr. Easter said. “That’s why I think [Liberal Leader Michael] Ignatieff has now come out with the national food policy approach. We recognize that we have made mistakes in the past, and we recognize that things have to change, that food is certainly important, food policy is important, and the rural community is important.”

Mr. Easter said the Liberals’ national food strategy includes elements that keep food safe, healthy living, sustainable farm incomes, environmental farm stewardship and international leadership to expand Canada’s market for agricultural products. “What it does in effect is tie rural and urban together under a national food policy,” he said.

Mr. Atamanenko recently published a report on findings from his 28-city cross-country tour called “Food For Thought: Towards a Canadian Food Strategy.” The report calls for a strategy to “ensure all Canadians have access to healthy food,” “help Canadian farmers produce adequate amounts of secure and healthy food,” and “establish a sustainable agricultural sector for future generations.” He told The Hill Times that a national food strategy is important for Canada’s future.

“There are two main themes that I took from that tour. One is that we have a tremendous amount of local initiatives happening across the country whether they’re farmer’s markets, whether people are buying locally or getting more involved in producing food in cities, we have this initiative, so we’re trying to regain more control over our food supply,” he said. “The other theme that’s been coming through is the whole negative effect of trade on our ability to produce good quality food.”

For example, Mr. Atamanenko said, in the Niagara Peninsula farmers are having difficulty competing with cheaper produce coming from subsidized industries in the U.S. and other countries. “That has to be looked at. If we want to have control of our food supply and have a national food policy then it’s imperative that we protect our farmers and ensure that they can make a living by producing good quality food,” he said. “I think there’s a philosophy that trade will solve everything. The government to its credit is trying to open up more markets and trying to get markets, but it hasn’t solved everything. We’ve seen in the beef industry for example that if you look at what the producer gets, they’re getting less than half of what the got 20 years ago and yet our exports have tripled. So there’s something quite wrong here.”

Mr. Lemieux noted that the government has addressed all the concerns that the opposition has put forward in terms of a food strategy in a variety of initiatives over the last four years. “I think when you look at a lot of the initiatives that we’ve taken, we’re talking about promoting food safety, we talk about CFIA, the money we’re making available for food safety inspectors and traceability programs,” he said. “When you talk about food sovereignty, when you look at our agriculture scenario, Canada is easily able to feed its populations because we are an exporting nation. We export grains, beef, pork, canola, all sorts of agricultural products.”

Mr. Lemieux said there is also an educational component that MPs and the public need to take up. For example, he said, he is promoting buying local produce in his riding and is encouraging constituents to go to farmer’s markets and buy in season products when available.

When asked whether Canada needs a national food strategy, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.), in an email interview, said that the government is committed to the agriculture policy file and has worked through its “Growing Forward” strategy to address agriculture concerns.

“Our Growing Forward suite of programming sets national goals for food safety, marketing, environmental services and farm support. While providing regional flexibility, it ensures consumers have access to the top quality produce our Canadian farmers are so proud of. Our government is taking concrete action to open new markets for our exporters while protecting supply management at home,” he said. “To be frank, when I hear the coalition parties make grand pronouncements about food strategies, it reminds me of the old way of doing things, where urban-dominated governments focused on urban-centric ideas that essentially ignored rural Canada and Canadian farmers. While some focus on urban-based food policies, our government will continue to make sure our agricultural policies benefit urban and rural Canadians alike.”

Mr. Atamanenko said, however, that parties of all stripes need to work together to develop a comprehensive food strategy and bring agriculture policies to the forefront. “I think people in the cities are realizing that they do want access to good quality food. I think we can work together with urban and rural Canada to try to move something forward,” he said. “I think it’s time. I think Canadians would like to see some kind of national strategy.”